Hearts Made Fullmetal
by Lexi-son
Summary: "Why did you want to become a State Alchemist?" "So I can protect those I love. To fight for those who need fighting for, and to be there when they need someone to lean on." Mustang laughed, "I see. Well then, you got your wish; welcome to the life of the dogs of the military, Victoria Havoc: the Cobalt Alchemist." EDxOC, ALxOC. Rated for Ed's potty mouth and Iris's pervertedness.
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER****: Owwie-son and Lexi do not own Fullmetal Alchemist, only the characters Victoria and Iris.**

**Note: For Owwie-son's sanity, we're going to pretend that the quickest way to Rush Valley from East City is going through Resembool.**

* * *

Chapter One

Green countryside rolled by outside the window as I daydreamed of what would happen when I reached East City. The train's whistle brought me out of my daydream and signaled that we would be arriving soon. I stifled a groan of irritation while taking my blond hair and retying it into a ponytail, I hated the thought of being in the same room as a certain perverted colonel, but tried to see the good in that: I get to annoy him and see my uncle.

The train came to a slow stop and I got up to reach for my bag, but I couldn't reach…you know, it's easier putting stuff in high places, but it's hard getting them down. Luckily, a woman to my left saw my dilemma and helped me. I'm just glad she didn't say anything about my height. Ugh, I hate being short.

I said my thanks to the woman and with my bag in hand; I got off the train and started for the exit. Some commotion stopped me as I was passing the vendors, so I stopped to see what was going on.

A girl about my age with long black hair was speaking to a vendor and they seemed to have been arguing. "Give me my ticket," The girl yelled and stomped her foot, "I need to get on that train!"

"I'm sorry, but your ticket is invalid," he said with annoyance and looked down at the girls ID, "and it seems your last name is not available."

The girl made a noise of frustration. "What does my last name have to do with anything?"

I could tell the girl was having a bad day, and that this was making it worse. So, I made one of my split second decisions and pulled out some money, walked over to the vendor and said: "Here, get my friend a new ticket and stop making such a big deal about it." The vendor gave me a pointed look, so I continued. "You wouldn't want me to report to the military that you're refusing to do your job, what if I had been part of it?"

"But you're not, and like the military would listen to child like yourself," The man scoffed and was about to turn away, but what I said next stopped him.

"No, I suppose most would not, but Colonel Mustang would." Ignoring his child comment, I pulled out my ID and showed him.

The man paled and quickly took the money I offered, gave the girl a new ticket and yelled at someone saying he was taking off early. I smirked and turned to the girl, who had been silent the entirety of my interruption.

When she realized my attention had been turned to her, she grabbed my hand and shook it vigorously. "Thank you, thank you, and thank you! I swear I'll pay you back as soon as I have the money!" I noticed her left arm was covered in bandages, but dismissed it. "So, what is the name of the O' Great One before me?"

I laughed and grinned, "My name is Victoria, but my friends call me Tori." She smiled in return. "Oh, and don't worry about the money; I was up north for so long that I forgot what it feels like to spend it."

It was her turn to laugh, "Mine is Iris."

"So, where are you headed?" I asked as I hefted the strap of my bag over my shoulder.

Iris grinned and her charcoal colored eyes gained a faraway look. "To the capital of automail, where all dreams come true: Rush Valley!"

I chuckled at her enthusiasm and made another on the spot decision, "Cool, would you mind if I tagged along?" Iris blinked out of her daze and shrugged.

"I wouldn't mind," she glanced around, "but you don't have a ticket." I pulled my hood up over my head and discreetly looked around.

"Sh, you didn't see anything," and I began to tip-toe towards the train. I heard Iris sigh and come up beside me; tapping me on the shoulder.

"Uh, the train's that way," she pointed to the opposite direction I was going.

I stood up and pointed my finger in the direction we had to go, "I knew that!"

"Sure you did," she sighed and followed me.

* * *

Iris POV

Tori and I haven't stopped talking since the train started to move. I can't help but smile, she's been so nice to me! "I can't thank you enough!"

"Like I said, it isn't a problem!" she smiled and put up her hands in a gesture to show that she was embarrassed. We'd been smiling and laughing for so long that my cheeks had begun to hurt at least an hour ago, but we couldn't stop.

"But I have to repay you somehow, even if it isn't in the form of money." When I said this, Tori's expression went from cheerful to serious. Her smile turned into a line and her whole demeanor changed.

Tori rested her elbows on the table between us and interlocked her fingers, a position I had seen my father in many times, so I knew she meant business. "Well, you could tell me about the reason your arm is covered in bandages." She stated as she glanced at my left arm.

I sighed and reluctantly said, "Ok, but can we go to the back of the train?" Tori nodded and led the way. I had only known this girl for a few hours, but I knew I could trust her; though I don't know why. As we walked I began to slowly un-wrap the bandages from my arm. "It'll be easier to explain if you see it," I mumbled when I noticed her curious gaze.

Too soon we reached the back of the train, wind whipping our hair into our faces. The bandage on my arm was unwrapped to the elbow; taking a deep breath, I began to explain,

"Around four-teen years ago, my parents gained an interest in alchemic experiments. That's why they had me: they were always telling me that the only reason I was born was to help with their research for lightning based alchemy." I raised my hand to the starry sky, making sure the moon's light showed the transmutation circle scared into my arm, "I got this when I was five."

I looked over at Tori, her mouth was agape; she snatched up my arm and began to study the scars. She opened her mouth to say something when an odd noise sounded from behind us, followed by a very annoying voice.

"Lust, can I eat them?"

We both whipped our heads to look for the source of the noise and voice. Tori's bright blue eyes searched the shadows as she clapped her hands and placed them on the side of the train, creating a dagger from the metal. "Who's there? Show yourselves!"

"Gluttony, you know we can't," a female voice scoffed gently, "Father would be very displeased." A beautiful woman walked out of the shadows, with an extremely fat man following her with two of his fingers in his mouth. When the moonlight hit them, a red circle became visible on the woman's chest. I heard Tori take in a breath and let it out like a hiss.

Suddenly she grabbed my right arm and jumped on to the railing, dragging me along. Tori raised the dagger, "Stay away!"

The two took a step forward, "Don't make any rash moves, girl," the woman called.

"Lust," the fatty tugged on the woman's dress skirt, "The blonde one reminds me of…" he stuck a fat finger back into his mouth, "What are they called, Lust? Pipsqueaks?"

Tori abruptly stood up on the railing, her eyes hard, "Who're you calling a pipsqueak?!" The sudden movement caused her to lose her balance and her dagger, and she fell backwards of f the train, dragging me along! The last thing I remembered was hitting the ground and a sharp pain in the back of my head, and then everything went black.

* * *

Victoria POV

My eyes widened as we fell backwards off the train and onto the hard ground. I glanced over at Iris's body, her head was the first thing to make contact as we fell and was knocked out.

"You stupid girl!" I winced at the voice and turned to the homunculi.

"Why are you here?!" I shouted my heart pounded; I hoped they couldn't hear it.

The two creatures from the train calmly walked from the direction the train was headed, "To make sure that you do as you're told, Victoria."

"What do you want with me?" I stood my ground, getting ready for the impending fight. Lust took a step back and Gluttony took his place in front of her.

"Can I eat her now, Lust?" Gluttony licked his lips, again Lust denied his request.

While the two were talking; I quickly clapped my hands together and placed them on the ground, creating a spear. By the time the two were done speaking the spear was already sailing through the air on its way to the mark.

It hit Lust in forehead, her head snapping backwards with a sickening crack. She reached up with a hand and pulled the spear out; Lust casted it aside as if it hadn't broken her neck. If I hadn't of known what they were, I would have been freaking out.

Red light that looked like volts of electricity appeared around the the wound and it closed; the only proof it had pierced her was a trail of blood that trailed down the side of her nose.

"You brat!" Lust yelled and brought up her hand as if she had claws. She pointed at me and her fingers elongated, turning her fingers into what looked like knives. They came at me so I jumped to the left to dodge the attack, but she kept coming at me.

I remembered Iris laying unconscious a few feet away, I clapped my hands again and created a dome of earth around her to protect her from Lust's attacks. As soon as the dome was finished, I felt a sharp pain in my left shoulder. Eyes wide, I looked down to it; Lust had pierced my flesh at the junction where my shoulder and arm met.

"There, Gluttony, eat her arm." Lust sneered, pulling her hand down; completely severing it from my body. I let out a scream of pain as I watched my blood splatter to the ground next to my arm.

I fell to the ground and looked over to the dome of earth and saw Lust walking over towards it, "I-Iris, I'm s-sorry…" My vision became blurry, I saw Gluttony shove my lost arm into his mouth, and I was soon shrouded by darkness.

* * *

Iris POV

I awoke to a bloodcurdling scream and the sound of cracking, I rolled over and groaned in annoyance; but that was soon stopped when a chunk of earth landed on my stomach. I sat up and hit my head on another piece of earth, "Son of a bitch!"

I rubbed my forehead, and then I noticed the woman, Lust, walking over to me and stand in front of me.

"Take her to the nearest town," she said pointing to Tori's body, Fatty was next to her eating something that looked like an arm, I felt the blood from my face drain and a look of horror take over.

"W-What's wrong with her?!" I began to crawl backwards away from them, "What are you people?"

Lust took a step towards me, "She'll die without treatment, take her to the nearest town."

"Listen lady, I've been bossed around my whole life and I'm sick of it!" I stood up and raised my chin defiantly.

"If you don't listen," she met my gaze sternly, "then we will tell your mother and father where you are, and then you'll never be free."

"You don't even know me," I stepped towards her, I saw her take a deep breath.

"Oh really? You aren't the daughter of the Dr.-"

"Those bastards are not my parents!" I spat and I felt my face heat up, "How far away is the next town…"

Lust grinned at my cooperation, "Half a mile away, and I'd hurry if I was you." She strode away, Fatty followed her closely.

I walked over to Tori, the place where her left arm should be was empty, and I started to gag, _'How repulsive! Who would do this to a little girl?!'_ I winced inwardly, _'Note to self: don't call her little.' _Seeing as it was the whole reason she was like this.

I composed myself and noticed she had passed out from the pain already, so I hoisted her onto my back, trying not to touch her wound. I looked at my left arm, it was covered again, _'When'd I do that?'_ but without a second thought of it, I began to fallow the train tracks. I wasn't walking long when I reached the next town, that's when I began to yell.

"Help! Somebody, please!" I yelled this over and over again, hoping someone would hear and come help us. My voice was growing hoarse when I heard heavy footsteps behind us, turning around; I lost my balance and fell onto my butt. Tori groaned as she hit the ground, "Shit! Sorry!"

"Who's over there?" a young boy's voice called out, the footsteps grew nearer.

"Please! W-We need help!" I cried out, my throat was hurting like hell.

"Oh goodness! What happened to you two?!" the voice asked again, the footsteps stopped. A tall man in a suit of awesome looking armor stood in front of me, next to him stood a short boy with golden hair and eyes.

"We were attacked by this chick with really big boobs that had a strange tattoo on her chest! And a super fat guy," I told them as I sat up Tori, "Th-They took her arm."

The short one narrowed his eyes at the spot where Tori's arm should have been. "Did they say what they wanted?"

"Brother, please, can't the questions wait until later?!" the man in the armor asked, "That girl needs help!"

Shorty sighed and walked over to Tori, placing her right arm around his neck and began to drag her up the hill. "So this is what was leaving that blood trail."

"Are you sure you can handle that, Shorty?" I called after him. He stopped walking and slowly turned to me, I saw the armored man flinch.

"Who you calling so short that he could be squashed by an ant?!" he shouted, his face turning red with anger.

"If you're calling her an ant," I began to walk towards him, "I wouldn't do that when she's conscious."

Shorty raised an eyebrow before his expression grew serious. Turning, he began to walk up the hill again. The armored man hurried to join me behind the boy.

"Sorry about Brother, he's just embarrassed because of his height."

"Well I can see why, I mean you're a giant next to him!" I laughed, "You're the oldest right?"

He rubbed behind his helmet in embarrassment, "N-No, I'm the younger one!"

I stopped walking and stared at him open-mouthed, "You're joking!"

"No, have you heard of the Elric brothers?" he asked me nervously.

"Who hasn't? My mother absolutely loved Alphonse!" I gushed, then looked at his armor, "Wait…are you Alphonse Elric?!"

"Yes, yes I am!" he exclaimed proudly and I nearly tackled him to the ground.

"Oh my god! You really are him! Can I have your autograph?!" I pondered a thought for a minute, but shook it off.

He looked at my left arm, "You're hurt too."

"Don't worry, I already took care of it!" I lied. I normally don't lie, but I don't want him…or anyone for that fact, to know about it.

"Granny should still take a look at it," he stood up, carrying me up the hill to a little house. A sign out front read 'Automail' I blinked, reading the sign again. I screeched in excitement and I jumped out of Alphonse's arms and ran into the house.

"Who's the mechanic?!" I yelled, but the room was empty; save for the black and white dog, with his front left leg replaced with automail, that was sitting by the door. Walking over to the dog, I petted his head, "Hey, boy." He licked the palm of my hand, I laughed.

But it was cut short by a loud scream, Alphonse walked into the room, "Seems they already started on your friend."

"She's not really my friend," I mumbled, sitting next to the dog, "I just met her today at the train station." I glanced at my arm, _'and yet I told her one of my deepest secrets'_. The dog sniffed my left arm and whined softly.

"Looks like Den thinks something's off with your arm, Granny really should take a look at it."

"I don't need anybody looking at my arm!" I snapped up at him, the boy in armor took a startled step back. I looked back down at Den sadly, "I'm sorry, but really, my arm is fine."

At that moment, I heard a door open and close. We looked over to Shorty, who I now knew was Edward, slightly covered in blood: Tori's blood. Instantly my thoughts flew to the girl; I jumped up and ran over to him, "Is she going to be okay?"

Edward looked at the door he just came through, "Yeah, they had to do the same thing a few-," he was cut off by a loud curse coming from the room, "years ago." Ed finished slowly before he turned back to me and Alphonse and walked past us. "I'm going to wait outside; I don't want to go deaf."

Alphonse took a step towards him, "Brother?" The boy stopped walking and gave his brother a glance before walking out the door.

I looked between Alphonse and the door, "What was that about?" The armored boy turned to me.

"It was nothing; Brother just needs some time to think." Even though I couldn't see it, I knew he was smiling. I smiled at him and said a high-pitched 'okay!' before asking how long before they finished with Tori. The answer had been yet another shout of profanities from the room.

* * *

A few hours later, a teenage girl and a short old woman walked out of the room. Both looked tired and worn out. I stood from the chair I had been sitting in to stand in front of them. I guess the girl knew what the look on my face meant, because she smiled gently.

"I think it would be best if we let her sleep for the time being," the old lady said and walked over to where Alphonse sat on the floor as she lit the pipe that was in her hand. "So, where is that boy, I'm sure he's only here 'cause he broke that automail arm of his again."

When the old woman said that, the teenager pulled out a wrench and stomped out the door. Raising an eyebrow, I thought, _'I wonder what the wrench is for.'_ There was yelling and then a loud clang, which I recognized as the tool hitting something. Then the girl came back in the house while dragging a dizzy looking Edward. I giggled at the look on his face and noticed a red mark on his forehead. So that was what it was for.

"Stupid Ed, think you could runaway and hide while I was taking care of that girl?" the girl shouted.

Edward pouted and tried to pull away from her grip, "Let go of me, Winry!" When she did he huffed and crossed his arms. "And I wasn't running away, I was just waiting for you to be done." He then looked over towards me, but at something behind me. "Well, it's seems you're passed the screeching phase."

We all turned to look at what Edward was talking to, and there standing before us was Tori. A bloodied white blanket was wrapped around her shoulders, she looked pale and her blond hair was matted with blood. Worst of all, her sky blue eyes appeared dull.

I stood frozen to my spot as she looked at all of us, when her gaze was left on me, the dullness seemed to lift somewhat. Tori gave a strained smile, "You're safe."

* * *

Victoria POV

I looked at everyone in the room and finally noticed Iris standing there and was happy to see she looked uninjured. I tried to smile, but it felt more like a grimace, "You're safe."

Behind Iris stood a man in a suit of armor and next to him was Pinako and Winry, the two who had just got done doing surgery on me, they all gave me worried looks, well I think the man in armor was. Then there was Edward, giving no expression at all, just like all those years ago…I wonder if he remembered me, and where was Alphonse?

I gripped at the blanket that hid my stump, self-conscious of everyone looking at me. Winry took a step towards me and raised the wrench in her hand, "You idiot, why are you standing out here when you're supposed to be in there resting?!" She shouted. I stared wide eyed at the tool/weapon in her hand. Winry then spun around quickly and hurled the wrench at Ed, successfully hitting him in the head.

"Hey! What the hell was that for?!" He yelled and pointed at me, "I didn't do anything; it was her you were yelling at!" I gave him as much of a glare as I could, which I guess wasn't very effective since Ed just rolled his eyes.

Winry had somehow pulled another wrench out of thin air and raised it to throw it, "Yeah, but she's injured and you're the only other idiot midget in the room."

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SHORT!?" Ed shouted at the same time I yelled: "DID YOU JUST CALL ME SHORT!?"

Everyone in the room started laughing as me and Ed got all red-faced and glared at everyone. Winry dropped her wrench of doom and Iris finally moved to start rolling around on the floor, the man in armor and Pinako just chuckled at us.

"Wow, both you and Brother don't like being called short!" the armored man stated. That voice sounded too young for someone so big and it sounded familiar, and he had called Edward 'Brother'…

"Alphonse!?" I exclaimed. His armored head nodded and I ran over to hug him. "Damn, you had one hell of a growth spurt," I stepped back and looked over to Ed, "don't worry, Ed, I'm sure you'll catch up to him some day!"

I blinked in confusion when everything was really quiet instead of hearing shouting. Looking around, I saw that Edward looked confused as well, "What are you talking about; we've never met you before."

I was taken aback. The words stung, and it made me think, _'Does that mean that Uncle _is_ the only person I have left?'_

I guess I was in a small state of shock, because one moment I was looking at Ed's confused stare and the next I was being carried to the other room by Alphonse. He laid me down the bed and I saw Winry pull the covers over me then she came closer and waved a hand in front of my face.

She looked up at someone at the foot of the bed, "I think what you said put her in some kind of shock."

"I don't see how," that was Edward's voice.

"But Brother, we might have met her a long time ago and just have to talk to her to see if we can remember!" I heard Al scold his brother.

"I doubt it," Ed mumbled, but was followed with a loud 'ow'.

"EDWARD!" Winry's very loud yell startled me out of my frozen daze. I shot up in the bed so fast I nearly got whiplash, but that isn't the point.

"WILL YOU ALL JUST SHUT UP!?" they all looked at me guilty; well I'd imagine Al did.

Alphonse took a step towards me, "Um, do you think you could explain how you know me and Brother? I mean we don't even know your name." He used a much quieter voice than before, I think it was to try to calm me down.

I looked at the brothers sadly, "You guys really don't remember me?" They shook their heads. I sighed, "Well, my name is Victoria, but you two would always call me Tori. I met you two when I went to-"

"Oh yeah, now I remember you!" I was cut off by Ed's exclamation. I gave him a pointed look and he grinned. "You were the girl who was always borrowing books on alchemy from Teacher!"

Al gasped and I could hear the smile in his voice when he said, "Yeah now I do too; remember when Teacher forced us to take a break from training and Tori showed up just as she kicked us out of the house?" He laughed.

"It was just after a blizzard and there was so much snow!" Ed laughed too and I couldn't help but smile at the memory.

"We had a snow ball war, I still say I won," I butted in and Al chuckled while Ed's face got red.

He puffed out his cheeks and glared at us, "That's only because you cheated and teamed up on me!" I heard laughing and saw Iris doubled over and laughing her butt off, Winry was smiling softly and Pinako just watched with a gleam in her eye.

I smiled so big my cheeks hurt, "You were cheating by using alchemy to make a snowball canon! My teaming up with Al was totally fair game." I went to cross my arms, but then it finally hit me: I didn't have a left arm anymore.

I gripped at the bandages that covered the wound. Flashes from what happened wracked my brain and I suddenly felt very cold. I saw flashes of Iris's limp body, Lust severing my arm from my body and Gluttony stuffing his face with my bloody arm. All that blood.

Al saw my face and realized I was going to be sick, he grabbed a nearby trashcan as Winry pulled back my hair. After retching up my stomach I was eased into a lying position. Iris came over to the bed and I saw Ed and Winry standing behind her, they all had worried expressions. I heard their voices, but my eyes drooped shut and I was already drifting into my dreams. Well, more like nightmares.

It had been a long night, but spending the past few years in Briggs teaches you to be an early riser, so I woke up before anybody else. Last night was pretty eventful.

I sat up in the bed, looking around the room. In a chair near me was Iris, she was sitting curled up in the chair and was asleep. I laughed softly at her odd position and slowly got out of bed. Using my cat-like skills, I quietly tip-toed out of the room and tried to find the front door.

Last night, it had taken awhile for me to grasp what had happened, but the images kept replaying in my dreams. Now, I knew that it had happened, which meant I couldn't change the fact I had no left arm, but that didn't mean I couldn't move on with my life.

Once I stepped outside the house I took a calming deep breath and looked out over the soft rolling hills of green grass. _'The past has already passed,' _I smiled at the scenery before me, _'so there's no going back!' _

The birds chirped as I watched the dawn sky turn from dark blues and purples to the vast expanse of bright sky blue. I thought back to my days in Dublith and the few times I had actually spoken with the boys. They had told me that the sky in Resembool was so blue, and now I saw it with my own eyes.

_'My favorite color is sky blue, for it is the color of the sky, and the sky is a symbol of freedom.' _I sat down on the steps of the porch I stood on as I thought. Everything was so peaceful here, but I knew that no matter how much I'd wish it, I couldn't stay here. Soon I'll have to go back to East and face my uncle.

I don't know how long I sat there; after awhile I heard yelling, the sound of footsteps and people running into each other. The door behind me opened and I turned around to look up at the person who had opened it. Iris glared at me and called over her shoulder, "Hey, stop running around like chickens, I found the culprit!" She then ran over to me and wrapped me in a bone breaking hug.

"'Ris-can't-breath." I barely got out before a wrench went sailing through the air and smacked me in the head. "OW!" I looked over in the direction it came from and saw Winry red with anger and Edward trying to muffle his laughter. "What happened to not hitting me 'cause I'm injured!?" I yelled at her and tried to pry Iris off of me.

"Nope, I'm not letting go until you say 'uncle'!" Iris grinned and giggled. I sighed and looked up at Alphonse with puppy dog eyes. I noticed he was already in his armor and wondered why, but dismissed the thought when he came over and helped me with Iris.

"Maybe you should let her go, you may hurt her and she'll start bleeding again," Al reasoned with the evilly grinning girl. Iris pouted and mumbled something before letting me go.

At that moment, Pinako walked out onto the deck, "Well, since you've found her, why don't you kids come in and have some breakfast?" The old woman turned around and walked into the house with Winry following her. As she passed Ed, Winry gave him a sharp look before entering the house.

I got up and walked over to Ed, punching him the shoulder. His right shoulder. My eyes widened when I heard my knuckles crack as my fist came in contact with something very hard. "Damn it! What the hell? Are you wearing metal shoulder pads or something!?" Ed grimaced as he saw my throbbing hand, which was hurting like hell. He glanced over at Alphonse nervously before they both nodded at each other.

"Um, Tori, me and Al need to talk with you," He looked over at Iris, who was just watching our little scene, "alone."

Iris looked between the brothers and me, her eyebrows raised, "Oh I see, _alone_..." She wiggled her eyebrows and I felt my face grow very hot.

"NOT LIKE THAT!" Ed and I shouted, Al was acting very confused and Iris was grinning like a crazy person. The black haired girl put up her hands in surrender and walked to the door.

"Okay, okay, calm down." She was still smiling, "I'll come and find you guys when breakfast is done. Have fun with your appetizer!" Iris quickly bolted into the house before I could scream in her ear.

Both me and Ed were blushing like mad at the younger girl's words and I knew that if I could see Al's face he would look really confused. Ah, sweet, little (Well not anymore), innocent Alphonse.

"Let's just go." Ed said exasperated. And so he led the way down the hill and away from the house.

Looking down, I saw small splatters of blood making a trail down the road. I brought my hand up to lie on my left shoulder. Alphonse saw this, "Brother and I came across a trail of blood, we had just thought of it as a wild animal at the time, and it was at this spot that Brother started to carry you to Granny and Winry's house."

I looked up at the boy in armor, "So what do you need to talk to me about?"

It was Ed who answered my question, "You'll see when we get there."He then began to lead us up a path leading to what looked like a burnt tree and a pile of rubble.

When we reached the top of the hill I realized it was actually the remains of a house that had been burnt down. We stopped walking where the grass ended and the dead looking ground began, I looked the boys questioningly.

"We might as well sit down, this is gonna take awhile." Ed plopped on the ground where he stood. Al and I sat so that we all faced each other. The elder brother looked at me with a cold and serious look in his golden eyes, "Okay, Tori, we're going to tell you our story, but that means you have to tell us yours."

I laughed drily, "So, equivalent exchange?"

"Yes, Iris told us what happened last night, and how you can use alchemy without a transmutation circle." Al was in serious mode too, which meant I had no means of escape.

I sighed, "Fine, but you guys go first."

And so after Ed got done being stubborn, they told me about their past. About how their mother died and how they met Teacher; when they returned home after many years of training to commit the ultimate taboo. Ed showed me his automail arm and leg and told me that Al had lost his body and that his soul was bound to the suit of armor.

I nearly cried, but I had locked down my emotions before they had even started. "And now you're part of the military, looking for a way to get your bodies back, correct?" They both nodded. I was really going to hate what happened next, "Now you guys get to hear my story."

Alphonse put a steel hand on shoulder; even though the armor was hollow, I could still feel the soul inside. "If you don't want to tell us right now, you don't have to." Ed gave his brother a pointed look, but Al returned it.

"No, its okay, it's just that the only people who know at the moment are my uncle, Teacher, and General Armstrong." I gave them a strained smile before continuing.

"Back when I lived in Dublith, when I was six years old, I met you two. When I saw how you guys had convinced Teacher to train you, I thought I could too, but it didn't work. I begged and pleaded but she kept saying no. One day, as I was leaving after being shot down again, I took one of her alchemy books and went straight home. I didn't understand anything at first, so I took it to my sister-"

"Wait, you have a sister?" Ed cut me off, I glared at him to shut up and surprisingly, he did.

"Yes, I had a sister, she was my twin. Her name was Maya and she understood alchemy more than I did at the time. She taught me what she learned from the book, and when we were done with that book I had to take it back to Teacher. She wasn't happy with me, but I told her that I wanted to learn alchemy so I could make my parents proud of me. Teacher gave in and told me I could borrow her books, but that I had to learn and train myself.

"Maya and I kept it a secret from our parents; I didn't know why she had told me to keep it a secret at the time. Two years later, they found out and I learned Maya's reasons. They called us freaks that wanted to be in control." I growled and squeezed my hand into a fist. "Our parents didn't get mad at Maya; she understood alchemy, but she was too weak to do it. So they took their anger out on me. A month after finding out, in the middle of the night, they tied me up and took me to the lake." I took a deep breath as I was getting to the hardest part of my story. Ed was giving the ground a harsh glare and Al had moved to sit next me.

"It was raining that night; the water was higher than usual. They took me to the lake to drown me. I remember them calling me a demon as they did what they had set out to do. This is what my uncle told me about what happened after that; Mya had followed our parents and after they left she dove into the lake after me. When she pulled me out she couldn't get the water out of my lungs because she didn't know how to do CPR. Instead she drew a transmutation circle, a _human _transmutation circle. It was the one and only time she could and would use alchemy.

"I remember standing in a white nothingness and staring up at a huge gate. The gate opened and a voice had told me that I could go in, so I did. I saw the truth, it was horrifying and painful. I remember screaming for it to stop and then I just appeared in front of the gate again." I blinked back tears when my eyes began to water as I thought about the next part.

* * *

Flashback

* * *

_I stared up at the gate I had just walked into moments ago. I had seen it, the truth._

_"Hm, it seems you two are strange ones," the same voice that had told me to go in the gate had returned. I spun around to look for the voice, but what I saw scared me more than when I went in the strange gate._

_Just like a mirror, a gate identical to the one behind me stood across from me. In front of that gate was none other than my twin. "Maya!" I called over to her and she turned to look at me._

_Maya smiled, "Hey, Sis." We walked towards the other and met in the middle. "What are you still doing here? I'm sure I drew the circle right, and it is an equivalent exchange."_

_My eyes widened at her words, "You don't mean, you didn't-but you can't do alchemy!" _

_Her smile was gentle, "I did though, for you, Sis." Maya put her hands on my shoulders, "I've paid for what you've seen and your way out."_

_"But Maya-," she ignored my cries and continued._

_"Now, Sis, listen carefully, I want you to go home. I want you to fight for those who need fighting for, and to live for both of us. I want you to smile and laugh, to love and be loved; I want you to find your blue sky. Go and find what will make you happy." Maya wrapped her arms around me in a hug and let one tear slid down her cheek a she let go and said quietly, "Goodbye, Victoria, I'll see you again someday."_

_That had been the last thing I remembered before waking up in a hospital in East City._

* * *

End Flashback

* * *

I was aware that tears had begun to trail down my cheeks, but I didn't care. "After I woke up in East City I was told that my parents committed suicide after learning what my sister did. So then I was left in the custody of my Uncle. A little while later, Teacher came to visit me and I told her what happened; it was hell."

I looked at the boys and saw that both of them were looking at the ground. "At the age of twelve, I went up north to become a stronger fighter so that I could become a state alchemist and help my Uncle. I got back yesterday, and now we're sitting here talking about our past." I finished my story and wiped my tears away.

Next to me, I heard Alphonse beginning to shake as if he was crying, "We're sorry, if we had known what had happened, we wouldn't-wouldn't of-"

"We wouldn't have tried to bring Mom back." Edward cut his brother off as he looked over at the ruined house. His automail hand was clenched as he turned to me, "If we had known the risks, Al would still have his body-"

It was my turn to stop what he was saying; I raised my hand a slapped him. Ed stared at me in shock and I returned his stare with a stern glare. "Don't you dare say things could have turned out differently," I yelled, "Yes, they could have, but then you wouldn't be where you are now. You're the youngest state alchemist in history; by hunting down the Philosopher's Stone you are stopping those who would use it for evil. I may have been in Briggs for the past three years, but on my way home I heard of you: the Fullmetal Alchemist, the guy who caught this criminal or helped that person. I heard a lot of stories about you, Ed, and you guys wouldn't have done any of those things if the past was different."

I finished my rant and glanced at the boys, both of them looked defeated. They looked at me when I sighed. "If you spend all your time looking at the past, you're just gonna walk into the future backwards," I looked Ed strait in the eye. "That's a good way to get yourself stabbed; and if you get killed, who is Winry gonna throw her wrench at?"

They laughed, knowing I was trying to lighten the mood. Ed smirked, "You, probably." My eyes widened in horror and I had a feeling that she would.

I stood up and motioned for them to. "Okay, well, we should get back before Winry and Iris come and hunt us down," I laughed nervously and the boys chuckled before leading the way back to house.

I sighed as I followed them, _'That was easier than I thought.'_ Walking a bit faster, I caught up with Ed. "Sorry for hitting you."

He glanced at me and touched his still slightly red cheek, "Nah, it's okay, I needed that."

Alphonse came up on my other side, "You were right, Tori, about how things wouldn't be the way they are if we had known." The suit of armor was really tall, and I felt tiny next to him. "Though I wonder why Teacher didn't tell us about it, maybe she felt guilty since she was the one to give your sister the knowledge of human transmutation."

"I don't know, Al, but it's the past, so stop thinking about," Ed smirked at me before continuing, "otherwise, in Tori's words, we'll be stabbed."

"Hey, that was to knock some sense into you guys!" We all laughed. The rest of the walk was quiet and peaceful. Now that we knew the other's story, that alone created a bond between us and I could feel our old friendship coming back. I smiled at the thought.

When we had gotten back, Winry was waiting for us and so was Iris. Both Ed and I barely missed the wrenches thrown by the blond girl, but we butted heads when Iris threw one, too.

Breakfast was really good, and I realized that Iris was not allowed to be in the kitchen when I tried the pancakes she made. Let's just say she hadn't only burnt the food.

I liked sitting at the table with everyone, it was different from what I was used to. In the past, it was either really quiet, tense or just a ruckus of men trying to talk over one another (this was from Briggs). Here it was enjoyable; Ed and Winry argued about his automail, Pinako called me and Ed short and then he would argue with her, Iris made perverted comments that Al was really confused about and talked to Winry about learning how to make automail, and Al told everyone about his and Ed's recent adventures. I mostly just watched and laughed at the scene before me, but was caught by Pinako.

"Child, is anything the matter, you have hardly said a word." Everyone looked at me, expectantly.

I squirmed under their gazes, but took a deep breath and looked at Winry and Pinako. "Actually, I wanted to talk to you two." Everything was quiet, "Thank you for what you did last night, but I have a favor to ask of you." I unconsciously took a glance at Edward and Alphonse before going on, "I don't have the money with me, though I can easily make a phone call and have someone bring it; I was wondering if Winry could design some automail for me, like what she did for Ed."

Both mechanics smiled at me. "The choice is yours and I'd be happy to do it for you!" Winry happily cheered.

"Like Winry said, the choice is yours, but you can even ask Edward about the rehabilitation," Pinako gave the boy a look and turned back to me. "I think it would be a good idea to tell Winry what exactly you plan to do after you have gotten your automail, seeing as you seem to have the same brashness as these boys."

I grew nervous when Winry's happiness changed to seriousness. I gulped, "Well, the past few years I've been training to become a state alchemist so I could help my Uncle in the military." Silence followed my statement, Winry was giving me a pointed look, Pinako was expressionless, Iris had a faraway look in her eyes, and Ed and Al looked nervous about what would happen next.

Winry broke the silence, "So you're going to go and put yourself in the same situations as Ed and Al?" I nodded and she sighed as if in defeat. "Okay, I'll do it. Just promise me that if you go on those crazy adventures with them, you'll make sure they don't do something stupid. Same goes for you two." She pointed at the boys and they quickly nodded while saying 'we promise'. I exhaled the breath I was holding and relaxed.

"Oh, hey, could I help you, Winry?" Iris gave the girl puppy eyes with the pout for added effect. Winry was surprised by the question but said that it would be fine.

And with that, our breakfast conversations started again, with me joining in this time.

* * *

Edward POV

Breakfast was louder than usual. I guess with another mechanic for Winry to talk to and Tori being there it wasn't going to be quiet. I was a little shocked when Tori asked for automail surgery, but remembered that she wanted to help her uncle, and she couldn't do that with only one arm. Though I wonder why she hasn't told us who her uncle was, she hadn't even told us her last name yet! Then again, Iris hadn't either.

After breakfast Winry remembered that I needed my arm fixed, so she began her torture after I gave her some earrings that Al picked out. Everyone went outside to talk and walk around, Iris had yelled something about playing tag and Alphonse agreed for some reason.

As I was sitting at the table with my automail arm laid out in front of my mechanic, I heard Tori talking on the phone in the other room. It was quiet and Winry was too focused on the beat up metal to notice.

"Hello, yes, this is Victoria Havoc; I need to be redirected to Colonel Roy Mustang's office. No, this is not an emergency; I need to speak with Second Lieutenant Jean Havoc. Yes, he is my uncle. Thank you." There was a pause and I could have sworn my eyes were about to pop out of their sockets. _'Her uncle is Havoc?'_ the thought seemed impossible, but that didn't mean it wasn't true. I concentrated to hear what was next.

"It's me Colonel Pervert, give the phone to Jean. Yeah, yeah, I know, but I got a little side tracked. No, I don't need someone to come and get me, what I need is for you to shut up and give him the damn phone! Finally," there was a sigh and I tried not to laugh. "Hey, Uncle Jean, um, I got a little sidetracked on my way home and I'm in a small predicament. Yes, I'm safe and no, I will not tell you where I am. I don't want to come home at the moment, you need to wait and I need you to listen! Thanks, I need you to give some money to someone that I know we can both trust. I just need it for something important. He'll tell you how much, and it's the Fullmetal Alchemist. Yes I know him, I met him and Al years ago, but that isn't the point. When they get to East City tomorrow you can ask them yourself. Wait! Um, okay, yes I'm in Resembool, but Uncle, please, I am begging you to not send anyone. They don't know who has me connected to the military; they only know that I have an uncle in it. I'm safe, Ed is getting his automail fixed as we speak, and Al is acting like he usually does. Yes, Uncle I know, and they know about me, too. Okay, I'll tell them. I'll see you see you later and you better not have been smoking in the house, yeah, love you too, bye."

The sound of the phone being put down snapped my resolve and I started laughing. Winry looked at me like I was crazy, but she had caught me. "You know it isn't polite to eavesdrop." I smiled sheepishly.

"Oh, come on Winry, I just learned something both funny and blackmail worthy," I whispered and grinned. The mechanic gave me a dry look and pulled on something in the automail. "Ow!"

"Well you deserve it, your reasoning doesn't make it right," she said as she tightened a few bolts and made sure everything looked right. "Well, you're done, but you better not break it again!" I nodded and stood up.

I put on my jacket and headed for the room Tori was in. Trying to figure out how I would get her to tell me about Havoc, I nearly ran into her. "Oh, hey, Tori, I was looking for you."_ 'Not good, if she finds out I was listening in on her conversation, she'll be pissed!' _I scratched the back of my head nervously and tried to think faster.

"Really, I was looking for you, too." Tori blinked in surprise and smiled, she stepped to the side and motioned for me to go past her. Behind me, I heard Winry yell that she was going outside. I was left alone to my thoughts on how to keep the beast at bay. "So why were you looking for me?"

I looked at her and shoved my hands into my pockets, "Oh, just to tell you that me and Al are going to be leaving soon." Tori nodded and I saw that she looked kind of sad. "But don't worry, I'll probably break my arm again and have to come back by the end of the week!" I don't know why, but I felt like I had just jinxed myself. She smiled and laughed.

"I just called East Headquarters, but you already knew that, didn't you?" Tori raised an eyebrow suspiciously. I blushed in embarrassment and nodded, averting my eyes in discomfort. "Anyways, Jean told me to tell you and Al that you guys have to meet Mustang and Hawkeye at Central, there's a case that he wants you on."

I sighed in relief; she didn't seem mad, and nodded, "Was there anything else?"

"Oh, yeah, when you go back to East, I want you to talk with my uncle. He's going to give you the money for my automail, but-"

"Don't tell him about it being for automail?" I guessed and she smiled sadly.

"Yeah, I don't want him to freak out and get himself hurt by doing something stupid." She said and continued, "Also, tell Mustang that he is an annoying bastard." I laughed and told her he hears it almost every day from me, but that I would tell him that it was from her this time.

We laughed and talked about some other things, like back when we we're younger and Teacher forced us to stay outside and do something other than alchemy. She told me about when she first began to live with her uncle and the first time she met Mustang, we couldn't stop laughing.

It felt good to laugh like this, to look back at the good times in my past and to share those memories with someone other than Al. I don't know why, but it was easy to talk to Tori. Maybe it was because our pasts were similar in some ways, or just because she was easy to get along with. I didn't know.

After talking for a little bit, Tori wanted to see what everyone was up to. When we stepped outside we were greeted with lots of laughter and barking. The laughter coming from Winry, Al and the barking came from Den, then there was Iris, who couldn't make up her mind on if she wanted to laugh or bark with Den. We laughed at the sight and were attacked by Iris. She told us that since we were all out her that we should play tag.

That didn't last very long.

For some odd reason Al thought it would be a good idea to leave early, which was weird 'cause I was usually the one who wanted to leave. Whatever the reason had been, I agreed and grabbed my stuff from the house. On my way out Winry continuously told me to take care of my automail, I had heard it a million times, so I just ignored her. Al was trying to get Iris to let go of him and I laughed when Tori came up to me.

"I'll see ya later, thanks for bringing me here last night," She smiled and looked over at Al, seeing Iris hanging on him. "Well, someone has a fan. Anyways," Tori looked back at me and grinned, "When you guys comeback I'll be ready to go with you."

I smirked, "You think you can do it in a week?" It was crazy, but she nodded. "I give you a month, but I doubt you'll be ready by then. I mean it took me a year!"

Tori rolled her eyes, "Nope, I'm going to be ready in a week." I sweat dropped at her confidence.

"I was literally spiting blood, Tori."

"And I was, too, when I was up at Briggs. I've dislocated many bones and been punched in the gut many times. I think I'll survive a little bit more pain." I sighed, she had convinced me. From what I heard from Teacher, that place is crawling with seven foot bears.

"Okay, whatever; just don't push yourself." I looked over and saw Al waiting patiently for me to finally say goodbye. "Al is waiting, I gotta go, but I'll see ya later."

I ran to catch up with Al and we started walking down the hill. In the background I heard Winry yell something about my automail and Iris yelling goodbye. Looking over my shoulder, I saw Tori wave. "One week!" She called and I rolled my eyes.

"I told you, a month!" I laughed and shouted back. I turned back to the road before me and shoved my hands in me pockets.

"What was that about, Brother?" Al questioned as we walked, I smirked and answered, saying that it was nothing.

Not long after that, we sat on a train headed for Central. As I watched the passing scenery I thought of what might come, now that we met Tori again. Only time would tell.

Queue episodes 1-5

* * *

HI~! Lexi here! Finally got the first chapter done! Kind of funny how I'm uploading this on my birthday, but sooner rather than later, right?

RANDOMNESS

Owwie-son: *texts Lexi* ...I'm dying...

Lexi: What?! Alphonse get your butt over there and save her!

Alphonse: But I don't know where she lives...

Lexi: *starts crying* NO! How can you die on my birthday, now how am I supposed to get my present?

Owwie-son: Really? *jumps out of coffin that appeared out of nowhere* You only care about the presents? Oh, and Happy Birthday!

Alphonse and Edward: How'd she get here?

Lexi: I knew it *points at Owwie-son* you were faking!

Owwie-son: *facepalms* Of course I was faking, I meant dying as in dying of boredom.

Lexi: Oh... well, come sit with me and we'll start the next chapter!

Owwie-son: Fine, nothin' else to do...

Edward: *reads the first chapter* Hey, you do realize that Victoria won't be able to that in a week, right?

Alphonse: Yeah, what if she hurts herself *looks sad and worried*

Owwie-son: AW! *lunges at Alphonse* You're so cute!

Edward and Lexi: She's such a fangirl.

In Unison: Please leave a review if you liked it or even if you didn't. The next chapter will be up soon! Again, please review, we want to know what you thought of the beginning of HMF. See ya next time!

**BIG** Shmiles

~Lexi-son


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCAILMER: We do not own FMA, only the characters Iris and Victoria.**

* * *

Chapter Two

Episode 6; Alphonse POV

"Baa~" I turned my head to look at the sheep that surrounded me. I sat in a wooden box, half my armor destroyed and stuffed in here as if I was luggage.

_'Why did Brother have to be such an idiot?' _The sheep made more noises as if they could hear my thoughts.

I sighed, even if I had no lungs to do so. This would be a long and boring ride; maybe Brother would come to see me.

Since there was nothing to do, I let my thoughts drift. I thought of when we would reach Resembool; our home. No matter how much Brother denied it, Resembool would remain our home for as long as we lived. _'Knowing Winry, she'll hit both of us, but I think Tori might beat her to the punch with Brother; literally. Iris will be angry, though I don't think she will be for too long.'_

I was really happy that we've met Tori again, and I think Brother was too. He definitely wasn't trying to convince anyone otherwise. If I had a mouth, I would have smiled at how easily Brother and Tori talked with each other. Even when we we're little, they would just talk and forget about alchemy while I quietly watched how they interacted. I remember daydreaming about how someday we would bring her to Resembool and show her where we grew up, have her meet Granny and Winry, and that maybe someday she would want to stay and live with us.

That dream was crushed when Tori stopped coming to Teacher's. I remember how Teacher had faked being sick and hid in her room and cried when she heard the news, and how Brother and I had to stay with Mason while Teacher and her husband left for a week. When they had returned, she told us that our time training with her was done and that we could go home. She told us that we wouldn't see Tori again.

Brother had been very downcast that day, and I think that what we were told just made him want to bring back Mom even more. It was the fact that he didn't want to keep losing people.

Thinking back to last week, the time I spent talking to Iris was fun. She was really nice and seemed to like acting like a child. When we were playing tag though, I was afraid that she would find out about my body. I didn't want to scare her.

I was so caught up with my thoughts that it was like I was asleep. Brother and Major Armstrong came and got me from my solitude and we went looking for a man named Dr. Marcoh.

* * *

Time Skip

Victoria POV

"Winry, Winry! Our best customer is here!" I heard Pinako call from out front.

Winry stopped working on my new automail arm and got up to go to her grandmother. "They're back already?" she muttered as she opened the door.

I peered around her as she stood in the doorway. I saw a very tall man walking next to Ed and carrying Al in crate. Wait, why was Al like that?

Following Winry out the door, I noticed that one of Ed's sleeves was just dangling. Great, he destroyed his arm, now Winry was going to be pissed.

The tall man set down Alphonse and they stood in front of Pinako.

"This is Major Alex Louise Armstrong," Ed introduced the man. Den sniffed at Al, who sat quietly in his box. I wondered why he was in there.

Pinako shook his hand. "I'm Pinako Rockbell," she turned to Edward. "I know it's only been a week, but it seems you went and grown smaller."

He visibly grew irritated and glared at Pinako. "Granny, you got it all wrong. You're supposed to say 'how big you've grown, Ed'."

Granny stepped up to the challenge of Ed's contained wrath and said, "But why would I say something so clearly untrue?"

Ed finally snapped and shouted, "I'm still taller than you, you mini hag!"

I laughed and watched as Winry took out a wrench and flung it at the tempered boy, successfully nailing him in the forehead. This made me try and hide my laughter, but I couldn't help but giggle.

"Edward, I thought I told you to call first when you were coming back for maintenance?" Winry called from where we stood on her second story porch.

Ed sat up from where he fell to the ground and shouted up at us, "Winry, are you trying to kill me!?" Instead of shouting back, Winry laughed happily and I smiled.

"Welcome back," was her answer to his question.

He was too far away to tell what he said, but I heard him grumble something. The Major picked up Al again and we all met down stairs.

Ed sat on the couch drinking some tea while Winry cried over the destroyed arm he brought with him. I laughed at the scene and quietly wondered where Iris was, seeing as her beloved Alphonse was here.

"Yeah, sorry, it's a little smashed up." Ed said from his spot, but I could tell he was not sorry at all.

Winry continued to stare horrified at the scrapes of metal. "A little smashed up a little? Ed, do you see what you've done to my beautiful creation? I slaved over this!'

"It's basically the same, just in smaller pieces," Ed grinned playfully. I saw Winry turn around with her fist raised, but I was too quick.

Ed flew to the floor after I punched him in the face. "That was for not telling me you had a metal arm when I tried punching you last week and for Winry 'cause I know how much she loves automail."

Winry blinked in surprise and thanked me, then she turned to Alphonse. "Don't tell me, you're a little smashed up too, Al? What kinds of trouble have you've been getting yourselves into?"

Al somehow gave her an innocent look and gave a soft sigh. Winry went to kick him, but a wrench flew through the room and sent him flying next to his brother. We turned and saw Iris standing there.

"Ally! What are you doing getting into trouble like that?" she yelled and walked over to us.

Me and Winry looked at each other, "Ally?"

We all turned back to the boys, who where twitching and making noises of pain on the floor.

"You idiots, all you ever do is worry me." Winry stated with her hands on her hips.

We got Al upright again and Ed on his feet. I glanced over at Iris, _'I wonder what she's thinking, seeing as she doesn't know about Alphonse.'_

A few moments later, Pinako spoke, "Alright, I see, in order to get this information you need, you want go to central as soon as possible. Am I right?"

"Yeah, this is kind of a rushed order." Ed was seated on the couch again, except this time he was in shorts and Pinako was checking on his automail leg. Iris and I sat at the table and watched Winry lay out all her stuff.

"Hm, it's not just the arm: your leg needs adjusting too." Pinako murmured.

Winry leaned over and gave Ed a smug look. "It seems your growth isn't completely stunted after all," she smirked.

Edward glared at Winry and growled, "Shut up!"

A soft clang sounded when Pinako tapped his metal knee to get his attention. "The leg is fine, but the arm is scraped: we'll have to build it from scratch."

Winry put the automail down and stood to the side and was thinking as Ed looked hopeful at Granny, "Do you think you could get it done in a week?"

Pinako sighed, "Give us some credit, Ed." She paused, thought for a moment and blew out a puff of smoke, "Three days."

They slapped in a spare as Winry examined Ed's leg. "But for the mean time, you'll have to manage with this spare." Ed stood up and wobbled a bit.

"It's going to be hard to walk on a leg I'm not used to," Ed stated as he tapped the heel of the spare on the floor. Pinako chuckled and said something about being done before he got used to it and Winry started counting numbers with her fingers.

"Three days, huh? Between machining, assembling, connecting and finishing: that's three all nighters." The blond mechanic said and Ed looked over at her, looking slightly guilty.

"I'm sorry for all the trouble," he said, Winry smiled and reassured him, and told him about how much he would have to pay.

After that, basically everyone left the room to do their own thing. The Major went to get some wood and took Al, on his request, outside with him, Winry went to go and design Edward's new arm, and Pinako started on the adjustments of his leg. Iris moved to watch Pinako and I went to sit next to her. Ed walked around, trying to get used to the leg. When he thought it was good enough, he came over to me and Iris.

"Hey, Tori, want to walk with me?" Ed asked as he looked over at Pinako's work.

I raised an eyebrow at his attire, "You're not going to walk around Resembool looking like that, right?" He looked down at his light blue sleeveless shirt and shorts.

I saw a light blush form on his cheeks. "I guess I should go change," he said and turned around to head upstairs.

"Well, when you're done, I'll be waiting outside." I called after him as I headed outside to wait.

The sun was already passed its highest point and the air was warm. Every now and then a slight breeze would stir the leaves in the trees.

I looked down at my left arm and thought with a smirk, _'Told him I'd do it in a week. But they've been gone for almost two.' _Edward also said that they would be back in that amount of time, funny how that all worked out.

The front door opened and Ed walked out with Den following him. "Ready?" He asked as they came to stand next to me. I nodded and we started down the road.

* * *

Iris POV

I sat across from Granny as she disassembled Edward's automail and began working. We didn't talk and she didn't bother explaining what she was doing, I was very content with silently watching and learning.

Shorty and Tori had left quite awhile ago, he left saying something about a grave and taking Den with them. I wasn't paying attention, so I wouldn't know the exact details. All I knew was that it looked like a date to me. Mwhaha, I would have my way one day.

Armstrong, who I'm going to call MuscleMan, came into the house carrying a bundle of wood. "The wood you requested," he said with a sparkle. I want to know how he does it; I want to do it too!

"Oh, thank you," Granny said, but she didn't stray from her concentration. Neither did I; I continued to watch intently, though I also listened in on their conversation.

MuscleMan turned to look out the door he left open, "I haven't seen Edward or that girl around the house in awhile."

"Yeah, he said he was taking Tori to visit his mother's grave." She paused before continuing, "Major, what kind of lives are the boys leading these days? They have yet to send us so much as a single letter."

"Ed and Al are well known for their alchemy. Even in a high profile place like Central; sometimes that gets them into trouble, they seem to have a knack for finding it." MuscleMan stopped and looked up at the ceiling. "But don't you worry, they're alright. The Elric brothers are strong boys."

I saw Granny smile at that, "Strong, hm? Yes, I think you could call them that." I smiled too; from what Tori told me about the boys, they have always been that.

MuscleMan picked up a picture that sat in front of a corkboard full of them. "I'm curious, Madam Rockbell, you speak of the Elrics as if they were you're grandsons."

Granny moved on to using a ratchet on the metal leg. "Of course, I've been watching over them since they were born. I'm a friend of the family you see, the boys' father was an old drinking pal of mine, one day he upped and left the village; abandoning his wife and sons. I don't even know whether if he's alive now or not."

I took a deep breath, they had lost so much. _'Poor Ally and Shorty…' _

MuscleMan asked about what had happened to lead them down the path they've chosen. Granny sighed, but she told him their story, which made me sadder.

I had walked out of the house when Granny got to telling about the night when they attempted the transmutation. I had to know; at first I was really confused on why Alphonse was in a box while still wearing his armor, but now there was a reason behind it, and I had to know if it was true.

Looking around, I saw Al resting against a barrel and watching some chickens that were near him. Half his body was covered in cloth, to hide the fact that there was no actual body inside the armor.

I walked over to him. This was going to be my most serious moment since I left East City. Al looked up at me and I knew that if he could show emotion, he would look very nervous.

"When were you going to tell me about your body?" I asked with my voice void of emotion.

Alphonse lowered his gaze to the ground, "Granny told you?" I told him yes and he sighed. "I would have thought that maybe Tori would, but I know that she would probably ask us first. But yes, it's true, I have no body."

I looked down at him sadly and sat in front of him. "That's why you wanted to leave early last time." Alphonse nodded.

"I didn't want to scare you," he stated. I smiled at him and giggled.

_'He's so sweet,' _I looked up at the setting sun and then down the road as two figures and a dog walked up it.

I smiled softly and heard Al sigh happily as we listened to Edward and Tori laugh. It seemed those two were getting along.

* * *

Earlier; Victoria POV

Ed and I walked along the road, headed to the graveyard. We had stopped a little earlier to pick some very pretty wild flowers and I transmuted a wrap for them. Now the flowers were being carried by Den as he walked beside us.

Up ahead of us, two men were surrounded by a herd of sheep, a common sight here in Resembool.

"Edward Elric is that actually you?" one of them called out as we neared them.

Ed stopped and smiled at them, "Yeah, it's been awhile, huh?"

The older one smiled back, "I'll say. Four or five years, right? But you're still as puny as ever."

Great, provoke the beast, why don't you? Edward was instantly shouting and I put my hands on his shoulders to keep him back. "Don't call me puny!"

I and the younger boy laughed. Ed looked back at me with narrowed eyes, but I grinned in response. "Oh, come on, Ed you're taller than me!" I took my hand and measured my height, showing him that he was at least an inch taller. '_He's lucking I'm nice.'_

He grinned impishly, "Shorty."

I glared at him and I heard the two men laughing. "Jerk," I growled and lightly hit his chest with the back of my hand. I learned that it always hurts more if you do it that way.

The older man chuckled heartily and smiled at Ed, "Yeah, Edward, you got to be nice to your girlfriend. Otherwise she'll leave you for someone nicer, and taller."

I felt my face heat up and saw Ed's get very red. We pointed at each other and shouted, "SHE/HE ISN'T MY GIRL/BOYFRIEND!"

This made them laugh harder and I mumbled about jumping off a cliff. Ed went on a 'shortness rant' and Den was walking around in circles. Dogs were so lucky to not have to deal with that crap. My cheeks continued to feel hot.

After a few minutes we said goodbye to the two and walked on. For the rest of the walk we didn't look nor talk to each other and Den walked between us. Thank you, Den.

When we reached our destination, our silence turned from an awkward one to a calming one. Not like was I complaining about the silence. It was weird having Ed called my boyfriend…

I stood back as Edward took the flowers from Den and laid them on the grave. The quietness continued to stretch on for a long time.

Gazing at the headstone, I thought about Ed and Al. I sympathized with the boys. Their father walked out on them and then they lost their mother not long after he left. It wasn't quite like knowing that your parents killed themselves because of what you did, but I knew the pain was similar. I also knew the pain that Ed would have felt if he had lost Al, I'm glad he was able to save him.

A light breeze blew and Ed turned to look up the hill at the remains of his house. He glanced over at me and I gave him a small smile and nodded, so he began to walk away. Before I followed Edward and Den, I turned to his mother's grave, _'Don't worry about them, I'll make sure your boys are always happy.' _With that I turned around and ran to catch up with Ed as he headed up the hill.

For some odd reason, while I ran, I could have sworn I heard a voice in the back my head saying, _'I know.' _I shook off the odd feeling and focused catching up to Edward, who stood at the top.

He looked deep in thought, so I just sat on the ground next to where he stood and let my own thoughts wander. It seemed I had been doing that a lot today.

I wondered what it felt like to have a family like Winry and Pinako always waiting patiently for you to come home, or even an actual home for that matter. Sure, I have a house in East City that I live in with my uncle, but it didn't feel like home. The sky had very few stars there.

When I lived in Dublith, I would lie on the ground at night and look up at the stars. I would dream of what I would do when I was old enough to learn to become an alchemist, and only then would I feel at home.

Here in Resembool, I get the same feeling when I look up at sky, no matter the time of day. The rising sun always arrived with purples, pinks and dark blues. Midday, which was my favorite time of day, showed the vast blue sky with soft clouds floating by. And at night, more stars than I could have imagined sparkled against the dark canvas.

I felt happy here, but not quite at home. I was too antsy to get on a train and go with Ed and Al. My time up in Briggs was spent sitting or training, now I was ready for my adventure to begin. But it wouldn't be so bad to come back here once in awhile.

"What are you thinking about?" Edward asked as he sat down beside me. I looked at my hands, one automail and the other flesh. It was barely over a week ago that both were able to feel warmth, cold, soft or rough; now things would be a tad bit complicated.

I shrugged, "I was just thinking about home." Ed was looking at me, I could feel it, but I didn't look up.

"You mean what feels like home?" It was weird, he basically read my thoughts. I guess he remembered some things from when we were kids.

It felt nice to know he still thought back to those days. I looked up at him a nodded. "Yeah, I never really liked being in a big city, even if East is technically small compared to Central. I like it here, and I miss seeing you and Alphonse."

Ed smiled and pointed his thumb over his shoulder, "You know, Al had always wanted you to come here and live with us." He dropped his hand and looked away from me, "If you want, seeing as how you like it here, I'm sure Granny won't mind and it would be good for Winry to have a girl around the house, other than Iris- she's a bit odd, but, uh, you could live here in Resembool."

If I hadn't known better, I would have thought he seemed embarrassed. I raised an eyebrow and he saw this. "I mean, only if you want to, and it would make Al really happy. He was really upset when we were told we wouldn't see you again, I was too, but he got really sad and cried a few times while saying that he missed you. The whole way home he wouldn't talk to me or Teacher, he was really depressed. Of course I missed you too, but not a whole lot-I mean, uh…" Ed realized he was rambling and shut his mouth quickly.

I thought for a moment. It would be nice, living with Granny and Winry, and seeing the boys every once in a while. But I had planned something so that I could see them every day.

Ed was looking at me through the corner of his eye, I think he looked kind of nervous. He turned to me, "Um, well…if you don't want to, that's fine. I would- I mean _Al_ would really like it if you said you want to live here." I looked into his eyes, they looked hopeful. Damn, he was giving me the puppy eyes without knowing it.

"I guess I could call this place home, even if I won't be here all the time." I sighed and crossed my arms, "It's just I'm getting restless."

I saw Edward frown and turn away from me, "I see, so where do you plan on going?" His voice was level and I could tell he was pouting.

_'He's such a little kid,' _I rolled my eyes at him. "I don't know, Al says you make all the decisions."

Ed whipped his head to the side to glare at me, "No, you're not coming with us."

I groaned in frustration and crossed my arms. Returning his glare, "I told you that I wanted to before now and you never said anything then." I looked away to glare at a random object, which happened to be the dead tree. "Anyways, it isn't smart for a fifteen year old girl to travel by herself. And I want to help you and Alphonse."

"What Al and I do is none of your business," Edward said as he stood up. I looked at him in shock, but then it turned in to anger.

I jumped up and grabbed the front of his shirt. "So you're just going to push me away, like what you two did to Winry?" I growled out through clenched teeth.

Ed's eyes narrowed as he looked into my own angered gaze, "Like I said, what we do doesn't concern you."

I let go of his shirt and took a step away from him. It really hurt to know that he didn't trust me anymore, even after I told him everything. "I see, but I still want to help you guys. Also, those people-no, _creatures_ that took my arm, they could still be after me; that's why I don't want to stay here. If I go with you guys to Central, maybe I can find out who and what they are."

I looked down at my clenched fists. "I don't want to put them in danger, and the longer I stay here the higher the chances get for those things to find me."

* * *

Edward POV

I watched as Tori clench and unclenched her fists. After a few moments, I sighed and gave in. "Fine, but you better not be like Winry; she always wants me to buy her something," I grumbled and glared at the direction of said girl's house. "I buy her wrenches and then she tries to kill me with them."

Hearing and excited 'yay', I turned in time to see Tori lunge at me. Shocked by the action, I was a bit off balance, but quickly corrected myself so we wouldn't fall and awkwardly returned the hug and she let go right away.

"Hehe, sorry, I forgot about the leg…" Tori laughed uncomfortably and looked around nervously. She was acting kind of weird, but I dismissed it and turned back to looking at my old home.

We heard a small whine from Den and looked down at him. "I guess we should go, shouldn't we?" I glanced at Tori and she gestured for me to lead the way. With that, we turned and left the old and destroyed house and headed to where our other family waited.

The walk back was quiet, but it was comfortable. It was just that there was nothing to talk about.

Looking at Tori through the corner of my eye, I thought back to what she had said. Those people who took her arm, she had called them creatures, as if they weren't even human. _'Could they have been chimeras, did someone other than him figure out how to do it?' _I remembered back to just a few days ago; Nina and Tucker.

I can't believe I couldn't save her. I should have seen the signs sooner. If I had been quicker, Nina and Alexander would still be alive; they wouldn't have been used in some sick experiment. The fact that her own father did that to them, made it even worse.

"Hey, what's with the scowl?"

I looked over at Tori, who was giving me a worried look with an eyebrow raised in question. That was when I realized that I was scowling and glaring at the ground; I sighed and looked up at the house we were nearing. I saw Iris standing outside, and then I noticed she was talking to Al. Great. Well, she was going to find out sooner or later.

"It's nothing," I muttered and kicked a small rock off the worn path. Knowing that Tori wasn't going to believe that it was 'nothing', I didn't look at her when I could feel the glare she was giving me. It was better that she didn't know, that way she wasn't dragged into mine and Al's problems.

Tori grumbled something that I couldn't hear and then sighed, "Whatever; don't tell me then." She felt like I didn't trust her, I knew that. But I did, otherwise I wouldn't have told her about what had happened all those years ago. I just don't want anyone to get involved, just like she doesn't want to get Winry and Granny hurt. "I have a question," Tori poked my shoulder, so I turned my attention to her. "Did you get the money?"

I nodded, grinned, happy that she changed the subject, and began to tell her how I got it, "Yeah, it was tough though. I've never seen Havoc in such, well, he was wreaking havoc." Both of us laughed and Tori said something about her family name being so fitting for her and her uncle. "He was freaking out and asking me why you needed the money, if you were kidnapped and if you needed you him and Mustang to come and save you. Though the best part was when he walked over to the corner and sulked, saying stuff about how you hated him and needed the money to run away!"

We stopped walking because Tori had doubled over since she was laughing so hard. "That sounds like him," she stood strait and I knew we wouldn't stop smiling for a while. But I was happy, so I didn't care.

Beginning to walk again, I continued with my retelling, "Hawkeye had to use her gun to snap him out of it-shot the wall right next to his head! Breda and Falman both said that he always got that way when he worried about you. I completely lost it when Colonel started shouting orders about finding out where you were; he even called Hughes, who just added to the chaos when he wouldn't stop talking about his daughter."

By now, we had already reached the spot where Iris and Al sat on the ground. We stopped walking, Tori was close to running out of breath and was covering her laughs and giggles with her hand, but I wasn't done yet. "I felt bad for Fuery and Al though; they walked into the room and were so confused. I was on the floor laughing my ass off, Mustang was yelling into the phone, Hawkeye had her gun pointed at your uncle, Falman and Breda were trying to calm the Colonel down, and they just had the perfect timing!"

Tori shook her head and finally calmed her laughter, "Geez, those guys are idiots." She had that right, I nodded in agreement.

"Hahaha-what's so funny?" a flat voice said next to us. We turned to look at Iris, who had come over to us and was giving us weird looks.

Tori and I shared a glance and said in unison, "Nothing~." Iris moved her gaze between us and looked like she thought we were crazy, and then she said we were. We weren't crazy; we just knew something she didn't.

Al was watching us from where he sat on the ground and decided to join in on our conversation. "Brother, are you telling Tori about this morning?" I smiled widely and nodded. I knew he really couldn't, but Al laughed, "It was rather confusing from where I came in." He turned his helmet to look at Tori, "You're very lucky to have an uncle like Lieutenant Havoc."

I watched as Tori softly smiled and nodded, "Yeah, he's more of an overprotective brother most of the time. He even goes as far as calling me 'Sis'!" The way she smiled told me how much her bond with Havoc meant to her, and it was then that I realized why she wanted to become part of the military: she wanted to spend as much time with him as she could, in case something happened to either of them.

"Well then, it's settled, you'll come with us to Central, and hopefully we can get Havoc to meet us there." I stated just before the front door burst opened and I was attacked by Armstrong.

* * *

Victoria POV

The scene before me was very odd. Armstrong was chasing Ed around while talking about all that he had done in his past and had simultaneously ripped off his shirt. From what I was told, he liked to do that a lot.

I leaned over to Iris and asked, "Does he ever wear a shirt for longer than ten seconds?" She looked at me, a look of innocence on her face. How fake was it, was the question.

Iris looked over at them as Ed yelled about Armstrong rubbing his chest on him. She shrugged and turned back to me, "I never noticed before now, all I saw were the sparkles."

I sweat dropped and sighed. Of course that would have been the only thing she thought about; sparkles and automail.

Watching everything before me and thinking about what happened just today, I thought, _'The next three days will definitely not be quiet.'_

* * *

Day One; Iris POV

The morning after Shorty and Ally got here was a lot quieter than the night before. I was the first one to wake up, well after Tori that is. I had heard her walking around while I was just getting out of bed.

After getting dressed in my purple tank and black skirt, I walked out into the hall. Upon stepping out of the room I shared with Tori and Winry, I saw Shorty stumble out of the guest room and over to Winry's work room. Sighing, I shook my head disapprovingly; he was an idiot to bug her.

As I walked by the room's doorway Shorty came out. "Oh, morning, Iris," he said and looked over his shoulder. "I would have thought that you would be helping Winry."

"Good morning, Shorty," I smiled cheerfully and glanced at Winry, who was busy at work. "And no, she said she didn't need help, so I'll just leave it to her!" Shorty was glaring at me for some reason, "What?"

"Don't call me that." He growled and turned to walk down stairs. Hm, he doesn't like being called short?

I skipped to walk next to him as we descended down the wooden stairs. "But I give everyone a nickname; the Major is MuscleMan, Alphonse is Ally and you're Shorty because you're so short!" I giggled and grinned when Shorty growled at me, which was when I darted.

"Bite my big toe!" he yelled after me as I ran away from him.

Because of Shorty's outburst, everyone woke up and we were about to eat breakfast, until a certain someone was noticed to be missing.

"Hey, where's Tori?" Shorty asked as he looked around the room after everyone present had sat down at the small table.

"Well, we're going to eat breakfast, so…" I took a moment to think, "She's out back puking up a puddle of blood!" The words were said happily, since I was happy that I remembered where she would be.

There was a loud crash when Shorty jumped up from his chair, making it fall over. He looked really red as he stomped around the table and headed out the door yelling very loudly. "VICTORIA!"

_'I wonder why he was so mad.' _I looked at the faces of the others. They were all sweat dropping. Cocking my head to the side in a confused manor, "Was it something I said?"

Winry face palmed and Al sighed. "Yes, it was something you said," they both said in a deadpanned tone. But that just made it more confusing! What did I say!?

* * *

Victoria POV

"VICTORIA!" I heard a loud shout as I sat under the tree on the backside of the house. At the moment, I had been reading a book Iris had read over the past week. It was really boring, so I was easily distracted by Ed yelling my name in a very angry way.

"Great, what'd I do this time?" I muttered as Ed rounded the corner of the house and stomped over to where I sat. He was quite wobbly, might I add. It was kind of funny. Kind of, if you ignored the fact that he looked really mad.

When he reached me, he stopped short and looked around the tree, and then at me in surprise. "Where's the blood?"

I raised an eyebrow and rolled my eyes, "Well, good morning to you, too." Reopening the book, I began to read again and ignore Ed as he continued to walk around me and the tree. When he was done, he came over and sat next to me.

"Iris said you were back here throwing up blood." He sighed and leaned over to see what I was reading.

I moved the book away from him, trust me; he didn't need to read this. He pouted and leaned back against the tree. "I was, last week," I stated nonchalantly as I began to read again. The book was still not interesting.

Ed groaned in annoyance, "I told you not to push yourself!" I shrugged it off and stood up. The book was getting to one of _those _scenes anyway. Now I knew why Iris is so perverted.

"I'm guessing the reason why you're out here is because there is food inside?" I started walking away, not going to wait for his answer. Ed still sat there and he was not happy with me just walking away.

"Hey! I'm trying to yell at you for being an idiot, and all you can think about is food!?" He yelled as he got up and followed me to the front of the house.

Smirking, I turned and said, "Yeah, unlike you I don't want to be a shrimp forever." Facing forward again, I waved my automail arm in the air. "And besides, my arm is fine, I'm fine, and right now I am hungry, so I want food."

Expecting a loud rant from the boy behind me, I was surprised when my left arm was yanked and twisted behind my back. "YUOWCH!" I yelled and glared at Ed over my shoulder, he gave me a flat look. We both knew it wasn't supposed to hurt that badly; he had only done the maneuver with no force behind the motions. "Okay, okay, I'm not a hundred percent. But I'm still ready to go."

Rolling his eyes, he let go of my arm and hit me on top of my head, "That's for calling me a shrimp." Ed walked passed me and around the corner. I watched him as he left and a thought came to me, _'Wasn't I shorter than him?' _ Then I realized something: he wasn't wearing his shoes…

I had quickly run into the house and whispered to Iris of this insight. We came to an agreement while grinning evilly, so after breakfast we decided to investigate by venturing into the guest room where Ed and Al were staying in; where Edward's strange boots lay hidden away.

After eating, the older Elric had returned to his room to take a nap. It was risky, but we agreed that it would be the best time. So we went and looked through the clothes Winry had given us and dressed in all black outfits, dressing up was just for the fun of it.

Tiptoeing as silently as possible down the hall to the last door on the right had proved to be quite difficult since Iris couldn't be quiet for the life of her. Repeatedly, I turned around to give her a fierce glare, but she would just smile and continue her irrelevant monologue.

"And so, as the two ninjas crept down the creaky old hallway of the abandoned and haunted workshop, the short blond one became annoyed with the awesomeness of the tall beautiful ninja."

We continued to walk, well I walked, and Iris tried to 'lurk in the shadows'. Weirdo.

"The short girl was so arrogant that she disregarded her ominous surroundings to walk casually to the cage where the golden beast lay sleeping. Unknown to both ninjas was a secret guardian that watched over the beast as he slept. This guardian was none other than the great and magnificent Alphonse Elric. He was a brave war hero who had single handedly slain an entire group of rogue ninja that had threatened his hometown."

I sighed and tried to ignore Iris, which was very hard since she was saying everything right next to me. With one last glare, I told her to stay put and entered the 'golden beast's cage'.

When Iris continued to talk, I was glad it was at least in a whisper. "While the smart and more superior ninja had the sense to stay hidden in the shadows; her ninja apprentice stepped into the cage, not heeding her teacher's warnings. But, the reason why the shorter girl did not fear the golden beast was the fact that she herself was a beast; the blue eyed beast. Only blue beast's own wrath could rival the golden beast's."

I rolled my eyes and tiptoed around the room. The objects I was looking for just had to be right next him, didn't they?

Ed was snoring quietly with his one hand fisted partially under his shirt, like he did when we were younger. His hair wasn't in the braid and was instead splayed around his head like a halo. I thought he looked kind of sweet, innocent and peaceful. It almost made me feel guilty for what I was about to do to his lying ass.

"Unbeknownst of the blue eyed girl, she was slowly falling in love with the golden eyed boy, and someday they would run off together and make little midget beasts of their own. But she would have to be quick; otherwise the younger brother of her love would come and kill her for trying to steal his elder brother. Strangely enough, the younger boy was the famed war hero mentioned before. But that was why the black haired beauty was there; if Alphonse showed up, the ninja would whisk him away and seduce him!"

I looked back at Iris and gave her a 'what the hell?' look before nearly falling over and laughing at the last part. Luckily I had caught myself before I accidently woke Ed. Iris was grinning at me, but it quickly disappeared along with her entire body. I raised an eyebrow in confusion, and then looked behind me as I heard why she had run. More like didn't hear.

Edward had stopped snoring. Though once I completely turned around I saw why. He had rolled over onto his stomach and was now drooling on his pillow. I tried to hide my giggles at the sight and reached to grab for his boots, but froze when I felt him grip my arm. Turns out he was really good at faking being asleep.

"Tori?" his voice was sleepy and his eyes were still wide with a dreamy glaze. "What're you doing in here?" I gulped and looked down at the floor.

There was my escape! "Granny told me I have laundry duty, so I thought I would be nice and come get your clothes too." I smiled and hoped he'd take the bait. Though he was still half asleep, so he probably didn't comprehend what I said.

Ed just grunted instead of saying anything intelligent. Three words: typical teenage boy. Then he let go of my arm and laid back down, already beginning to snore again.

I sighed in relief before snatching his boots and clothes. Well I did say I was going to wash them. Before turning and running out of the room, I looked over Ed and smiled, "Sweet dreams, golden beast."

After that, I quickly ran out the door and then downstairs to find Iris. I found her outside talking to Alphonse. The pervert was probably telling him how she was going to 'seduce' him in of one of her weird stories.

"I got them!" I called as I jogged over to the two, waving Ed's boots in the air. Alphonse looked at the black objects in my hand and watched as Iris jumped up and hoorayed.

"Um, Tori, Iris, what do you plan to do with Brother's stuff?" he asked nervously while watching as me and Iris grinned evilly at each other. We knelt down in front of him and told him of our plan. Al laughed and nodded, agreeing not to tell his brother about this.

Both Iris and I took a boot to inspect it. They looked like normal leather boots, but what caught my eye were the thick red soles. "Hey, Iris, look at the soles; they're at most an inch thick, which would make him that much taller!" I pointed at the one in her hand and she saw what I was talking about.

"So, what are you going to do? Wear them so that you're taller than him?" Iris asked as she handed the other boot to me.

I shook my head, "As tempting as that sounds, no. I have something else planned." The grin I wore grew wider as I clapped my hands together and laid them on Ed's stupid boots.

Later on, after I had returned the black boots back in Ed's room, I went to go and wash everyone's clothes. Iris sat in a chair as we waited for the cloths to be finished before taking the outside to dry. We were also waiting for a certain alchemist to wake up.

While waiting I had changed into my original attire; a blue and white long-sleeved shirt and dark blue jeans, courtesy of Winry. Iris had remained in her 'ninja' get up, claiming that a ninja must always be ready for a surprise attack. The only surprise attack I was worried about was Winry and her wrench…I had been hit many times in the past week.

I glanced up at the ceiling, to where Ed was still asleep, and puffed out my cheeks in impatience, "When is he going to wake up?"

Beside me, Iris began to braid her hair and giggled every few moments, "I don't know, but I can't wait to see his face when he does!" I agreed with her and she started to braid my hair.

"What are you doing?" I asked, trying to look at my hair, but I failed.

"I want to see what your hair looks like when it's braided like Shorty's!" Iris replied cheerfully. That was when what we had been waiting for, for the past half hour, came walking into the room.

"I told you to stop calling me that!" Ed shouted and glared at Iris, who just giggled and skipped over to him (she was already done with my hair). She was visibly two inches taller than him, even now when he was fully dressed.

I smirked, knowing what Iris was going to do. Reaching to where I set the soles to Ed's boots, I got ready to run. I had taken half off, so he was still half an inch taller than me…again, he's lucky I'm nice.

Iris patted the top of his head, "Hey, Shorty, I think I grew taller!" She looked away for a moment and I was trying not to laugh at Ed's face. "That or you shrunk." Iris then giggled and ran out of the room, escaping before he blew up.

"WHO'RE YOU CALLING SO-wait," Ed stopped mid rant and looked at the bottom of his feet. That was when I broke out laughing.

He looked up at me as I waved the heart of his ego in the air. If looks could kill, I'd have died years ago. His face got as red as his overcoat and growled out one word, "Run."

Knowing he was going to catch me sooner or later, I sprinted out of the room and had to jump around Armstrong on my way outside. "TORI, I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" I heard as I ran around the house and tried to climb the tree where I had been reading this morning.

Looking over my shoulder, I saw Ed rounding the corner. "Shit!" I ditched the tree and continued my way around the house. As I was coming around to the front again, I heard Den barking and Al yelling something. That was when I saw it, my death.

"Oh, Victoria, you must not run from Edward!" Armstrong ripped off his shirt and I slid to a halt before turning to run the other way. My other death was waiting for me.

Without even thinking about it, I took off down the hill and away from the house. Of course that wouldn't work.

Using his one arm, Ed somehow tackled me to the ground. We rolled for a few feet and when we stopped, I couldn't help but laugh. Landing side by side, he kept his hand on my shoulder to make sure I didn't get up.

"Remind me to never ask Armstrong for help again; that was way too easy," Ed chuckled and sat up. He let me up too and gave me a questioning look, "When did you notice?"

I smiled and motioned for him to give me his boots, "This morning, when you hit my head for calling you short." Clapping my hands, I transmuted the boots back to the original form. "At first I thought I had grown miraculously over night, but then I noticed you weren't wearing these," I handed them back to Ed.

"Oh," he took them and I hit him over the head. "Hey, what the hell was that for?"

I looked over and gave him a flat look, "I'm as tall as you, Ed, the only reason I'm letting you keep those stupid things," I pointed to the boots as he put them on, "is because it's weird for me to be as tall as someone older than me." I stood and helped him up too.

"We're only a few months apart," Ed rolled his eyes as we began to walk up the hill. At the top, I was happy to see Armstrong actually wearing a shirt and Iris with a wrench at the ready. Both of us tried to hide behind the other and we just knocked our heads together in the process.

"Ow," I rubbed my forehead and heard Ed laugh, "I knew you were hardheaded." He smirked and said that I was too, so I punched his arm.

Ed shoved me back and chuckled, "You'll definitely make things more interesting in Central." I took it as compliment and grinned before running the rest of the way up the hill, leaving him behind. "Once my automail is finished you won't be able to out run me!" he called after me, but he wasn't even making an attempt to catch up.

He doesn't make sense sometimes.

Day two; nothing really happened, besides Ed bugging Winry all day. The boy only had one arm, what else was he supposed to do? It was mostly quiet, so I saw it as a day for relaxing and reading.

Day three; it started out with Ed being kicked out of Winry's work room and me dragging him down to breakfast. Most of the day was uneventful, so Ed, Al and I found ourselves sitting out front.

"They said it would take three days, right? So give them three days," Al was turned to his brother and was trying to get him to be more patient.

Ed sighed, "Yeah, I know, I know. It's just when I think about a clue to the stone sitting in Central Library somewhere: I get so impatient!" He started to wriggle around to prove his point and Den copied him. I smiled at the sight.

They settled down and he just stared at the sky. I could relate to Ed being so restless, I've been for the past two weeks. Though, because it was the third day, I knew that at any moment, Winry or Iris would come to tell us what we've been waiting to hear.

Den started to bark and we heard the front door open and close. Our wait was over. Iris and Winry came running out each holding an automail limb.

"Here you go, it's all ready!" Winry waved the arm and Iris smiled. "Iris even helped Granny finish your leg!"

With that, we headed inside and Ed got ready for the painful reconnecting of nerves.

Ed glared at the ceiling. "Are you ready?" Granny asked as her and Winry positioned themselves.

He gulped and nodded, "Uh, yeah." His eyes squeezed shut as he prepared himself for the pain.

"Okay; one."

"Two."

"Three!" Winry and Granny said in unison as they reconnected the nerves. Ed made a groan/cry and I winced. I knew the feeling, but he had to deal with his leg too.

After slouching down into his seat a little bit he said, "That's worst part every time: when the nerves have to connect like that." The two mechanics began to work on the newly attached limbs. "Once we have the philosophers' stone, I can kiss that pain goodbye!"

I saw Granny smile a little bit at that. "Our biggest source of income, I'll be sad to see you go," she twisted something in the leg that made Ed jump a little and groan.

"Hold still, do you want me to do it right or not?" Winry did the same thing, and so did Ed. She went into a dreamy state and started to talk about automail, than Ed called her a gearhead and she called him an alchemy freak.

I flinched at the name, but no one noticed.

"Alright, we're done." Granny set down her tools and started to clean up. Ed got up and stretched, he surprised me with how flexible he was. And Winry went on about automail.

"In order to get done quicker, I used Iris's design for Tori's arm, so they're very similar besides a few obvious changes I had to make." Ed came over and we compared the arms. "There's an increase in the percentage of chrome, so it will be less prone to rust, but the trade off is that it'll break more easily. So don't go and do anything stupid!"

The warning fell on deaf ears as Ed was already out the door and on his way to Al, "Okay, Al, it's your turn!" Winry fumed and I followed his example of rushing out the door.

"You can fix him right here?" Armstrong asked as him and I stood of to the side and watched as Ed laid everything out in front of Al.

"Yep, but there's a trick," he removed Al helmet to reveal the blood seal, "you see that seal on the inside of his back? It's the medium between Al's soul and the armor, so I have to be sure not to ruin it."

Ed clapped his hands and placed them on Al's chest plate. The light from the transmutal reaction was very bright as I watched in amazement as the metal pieces fused back together to reform into the large suit of armor. I smiled, it still wasn't as big as the heart of the boy who controlled it.

"Ally!" We turned just in time to watch Iris fly out of the house and throw herself at Al. "Yay! Now we can play tag again!" Everyone laughed at the girl, though I think I was laughing the hardest. Sometimes she was a pervert and other times she acted like she was five, the girl needed to make up her mind.

"You ready to try it out?" Ed smirked and Al nodded. Soon the noise of metal clanging sounded through the air.

Granny came out of the house with her pipe alit and walked over to where that rest of us stood. "It'll be quiet without those boys around, and you'll be going with them, correct?" she asked as she blew out a puff of smoke, I nodded and continued to watch the sparing boys before me. "Well, it was nice to have company for so long."

Out of my peripheral, I saw Iris lean forward to look around me and smile at Granny. "Don't worry, Granny, I'll still be here; got nowhere else to go and I want to make automail with you and Winry!"

"Hm, nowhere else to go?" Armstrong asked the young girl. She nodded and said that she couldn't remember where her home was. I knew it was a lie, but she told me that she didn't want to tell anyone. She hadn't even told me.

After Ed finally got tired of sparing with his brother, he was complaining that Al never got worn out; he turned to me and attacked me out for no reason. I then learned that he wanted to know how good I was. So a showed him.

I didn't last long; my arm was starting to hurt and Ed had already warmed up with Al, so he whooped me.

We all headed into the house to eat the supper that Granny had made while Ed and I practiced. The boys told me we'd be leaving the next morning, so I was put in a happy mood. Afterwards, Ed fell asleep on the couch, in a position much like I had seen him in when I stole his boots.

I had left the room to get him a blanket, but when I got back I saw that Winry had beaten me to it. "To think that someone as young and as small as he is could be used as a human weapon, it's almost funny; especially watching him sleep," Winry smiled as she gazed fondly at the boy who laid next to her.

I stepped out the room, not wanting to disrupt them. For some odd reason I felt sad, maybe it was because someday I could be used as a human weapon too. I headed upstairs, passing Armstrong on the way, and went onto the terrace. Using the blanket that I had intended to use for Ed, I wrapped it around me and stared up at the stars.

* * *

The next morning was cold, but I ignored it. I was dressed in the clothes I had first come here in; a black sleeveless sweatshirt, black knee length cargo pants and, of course, no shoes. Winry had tried to get me to take a pair of her shoes, but I told her I never wear them unless it is absolutely mandatory.

We stood outside, saying goodbye to the two mechanics that stood in front of us. Al wondered where Winry was, but she was asleep, so we let her rest.

We turned to leave but Granny called our attention back to her, "Hold on second!" We all stopped and turned back. "You three should come back once in awhile and have dinner with us."

Ed scoffed and Al laughed softly. "You want us to come all this way into the mountains just for some dinner?" Ed asked as if the notion was ridiculous. Granny just chuckled.

"Edward, Alphonse, Tori!" We looked up to Winry standing on the terrace. Her voice was heavy with sleep and she waved her hand lazily, "Come back soon, 'kay?"

I watched as Ed turned to look away from her and rub the back of his head. He raised his hand in a goodbye gesture and started walking, "Yeah."

I followed quietly, that strange feeling of sadness coming over me again.

When we got to the station there were very few people there. We bought our tickets, Ed had grumbled about having to buy mine, and sat down to wait for out train to arrive.

While we waited I had been bored and looked around for something to catch my attention. Something did. There was a woman and child walking around the station and talking to random people that walked by them, asking about the bags she and her daughter were carrying; one a dark purple suitcase, the other a medium sized black satchel.

I stood and walked over to them, Ed calling after me to see what I was doing. As I walked up to them, the woman recognized me and smiled.

"I thought I'd find you here in Resembool," the woman's daughter handed me the black satchel. "I remember helping you out back at East City and then seeing you on the train headed here, my daughter and I were going to Rush Valley, but we didn't see you there, so we figured you had gotten off here."

I smiled at them gratefully, "Thank you so much, that suitcase belongs to a friend of mine, I can call her and tell her to come and get it-"

"Oh, that's fine, my daughter saw some sheep earlier and she just has to see them, so we can take it to her!" The woman said cheerfully and the little girl started to cheer.

"Okay, her name is Iris; she's living at the Rockbell's. They run an automail shop, and everyone knows each other, so you can ask anyone for directions!" I smiled and we said goodbye to one another, I gave the little girl a hug and thanked her for my bag and was rewarded with a giant smile.

After that, I walked over and sat back down next to Edward. "What was that all about?" he asked and pointed at my bag.

I opened my bag and rummaged around, "When Iris and I fell off the train our stuff was still on." Pulling out the rest of my money I handed it to Ed, "There, I've paid you back for buying my ticket and saving my ass from bleeding to death."

I leaned back and closed my eyes. A few noises of surprise escaped the boy next to me and I smirked. He was obviously not expecting that.

Not even an hour later, our train arrived and we boarded. Once we got our seats, Ed immediately took the window seat, which meant I had to squeeze in next Al. Armstrong sat in a different seat to let us 'children' have more room. I growled at him when he said that.

I sat in the other window seat and Al sat next to me. Ed gave me a questioning look, "Why are you sitting over there?"

Glaring at him, I pointed at the window, "Because Al is nicer than you." With that, I dug into my bag once again and took out a very colorful and small blanket. I bundled it into a comfy pillow and put it where my head would lean against the window. "Wake me when we get to Central," I laid my head on the blanket and was instantly dead to the world.

* * *

HI~! Lexi here! What'd you guys think of the chapter two? Sorry it took so long, but most of my inspiration comes from Owwie-son and in the past two weeks, yesterday had been the only time I had seen her. Well, onto the RANDOMNESS!

RANDOMNESS

Owwie-son: Lexi, mesa miss you! *lunges at Alponse*

Lexi: Um, if you miss me, why are you hugging Al?

Owwe-son: Because mesa misses him more!

Lexi: *jaw drops* MEAN! *runs off* I'll never make you fish again!

Owwie-son: N-no f-fish...*starts bawling eyes*

Alphonse: Um, uh, it's okay, I'm sure she doesn't mean it

Owwie-son: *continues to cry*

Edward: What's so special about Lexi cooking fish?

Owwie-son: *stares wide eyed at Edward* LEXI! YOU NEED TO MAKE SHORTY FISH A.S.A.P! AS IN NOW!

Lexi: I'm too lazy

Owwie-son: *dangles chocolate bar in front of Lexi's face*

Lexi: Give me a second *runs off into the kitchen*

Edward: Still don't know what's so special...

Owwie-son: She's the bestest cook eva!

Alphonse: You'll have to tell me if I should write it down for things to eat when I get my body back, Brother!

Edward: Yeah, yeah, I'll try it, but no promises

Lexi: Ai Mo Yume Mo Kimi To Naraba! Majikaru Ni Karu Sa, Egao No Mahou Kakeyou! *loudly sings from kitchen*

In Unison: Please leave a review! We want to know what you think of the story! So PLEASE review!

**BIG **Shmiles!

~Lexi-son


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